Super Mario 3D World: WiiU Game Preview

The brilliant team behind Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario 3D Land are back with what's sure to be another great one, Super Mario 3D World, releasing exclusively for the Nintendo WiiU.

Race your friends to the finish line!Courtesy of Nintendo

I'll be honest, when Nintendo first unveiled 3D World at E3, I was a little disappointed. Not because the game didn't look fun, because it did. But because for years I've been longing for the series to revisit the massive, open and explorable levels of Super Mario 64 and what Nintendo was showing with 3D World was more akin to Galaxy crossed with 3D land in terms of level size and pacing.

But as Nintendo started showing off more of the game, I started to warm up to it and now I'm genuinely getting a little excited to sit down to play it proper. There are definitely moments of exploration, maybe not on the scale I was hoping for but for those that want to explore, you will have your opportunities. Interestingly, the world map is now an explorable 3D space. Where in past games, Mario had to stick to paths while traversing the world map, now he's able to wander around it in all directions, freely.

Avoid Bullet Bill with the new Cat Suits!Courtesy of Nintendo

The first thing noticed once in game is the multiplayer heavy focus. You can totally play this game on your own, it still features a single player adventure, but things take a turn for the competitive when your friends join in on the fun. When playing with your friends, you must each race through the levels, grabbing coins and power-ups along the way while also bagging that 1st place finish at the end for the big points. Each coin you collect, enemy you defeat along the way, adds to your overall score. I've personally found that the multiplayer in the 2D Mario titles, while a good laugh, tends to make things a bit too crazy. But 3D World and it's more open spaces (less bottomless pits) seems poised to bring truly fun and competitive multiplayer to a Mario platforming game.

Creative challenges await.Courtesy of Nintendo

Another great aspect is the power ups. They're a staple of the Super Mario series no matter the genre of game he appears in and Super Mario 3D World is taking those power-ups to a whole new level. There are loads of new outfits to don that increase your acrobatics and more. The new Cat Suit, which can be seen in the images and trailer, which allows Mario and friends to climb up surfaces, just like a cat! There's also the new Double Cherry, which when collected, creates a clone of yourself. This happens each time you grab a Double Cherry, so you could technically be controlling a whole bunch of Mario's all jumping around in ridiculous unison. You can even find a canon to wear that shoot shells at enemies!

Check out the trailer for Super Mario 3D World!

There's a lot more to share on this game and Kidzworld will update you along the way to it's release. The game is launching into stores on November 22nd and you can count on KW to have a full game review for you all come then. Hopefully it ends up as fun as it's looking!

Have Your Say!

Finally a proper 3D Mario title on the Nintendo WiiU. Are you Kidzworld gamer's planning on grabbing this? Any Mario fans out there? let me know in the comments below!